Scribes press Eye on pact
Writers Guild pickets CBS
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Their point: CBS broke the bank to the tune of $15 million per year to bring Couric to the "Evening News," while writers and news producers repped by the union have been working without a new contract -- or salary increases -- for the past 17 months.
A small contingent of WGA East members and members of associated unions turned up Tuesday morning with a group of bagpipers to hassle Couric in her first on-air appearance as a CBS employee on "The Early Show," forcing the show to use narrow shots of the plaza.
Later, a bigger contingent picketed CBS News' broadcast center in a steady drizzle on West 57th Street, where "Evening News" is shot and produced. The WGA East estimated that more than 200 attendees from 17 unions participated.
"CBS News has always been about quality product, and these are the people who generate that product," said WGA East prexy Chris Albers.
In Hollywood, about 60 WGA West members picketed CBS headquarters to bring attention to labor talks along with the disparity between Couric's pay and that of guild-repped employees at the net.
"We have nothing against Katie Couric," said WGA West prexy Patric Verrone. "But with her starting today with a very lucrative contract, it's the right time for us to highlight the fact that newswriters are being treated poorly."
CBS issued a statement accusing the WGA of dragging its feet in getting to the bargaining table.
"We have tried over the last 18 months to work toward an agreement with the WGA, but they prefer to negotiate through the press. We offered to meet with them any time in September, and they chose the end of the month. In fact, the WGA has now rejected close to 100 days that have been offered to them to meet in an effort to conclude these negotiations. So while we respect the union's right to hold protests, we just hope a resolution can be worked out when we meet next at the end of the month."
The sticking points in the languishing talks are a gap in cost-of-living increases as well as CBS' desire to remove news producers -- one of the higher-paid job classifications -- from union representation.
"They want to basically bust the union by taking writer-producers out," said Kate Miller, a promo writer for CBS News in Gotham. "They don't seem to be negotiating in good faith."
A leaflet distributed at two entrances at CBS headquarters in Hollywood said the net cut staff at the two CBS-owned Los Angeles stations and that the remaining staffers no longer have time to vet stories for accuracy and balance.
Union organizers said they're seeking 3% cost-of-living increases, including retroactive increases for the time the 500 WGA-repped employees have worked without a new contract at the Eye. Those employees have been working since April 2005 under terms of the expired pact.
CBS' standing offer to the union is 2% increases for radio employees and 2.5% for TV employees. The Eye is not offering any retroactive pay for the time worked without a new contract, the union said.
Guild took the dispute to FCC commissioners Jonathan Adelstein and Michael Copps last week, asking them to schedule hearings on issues of news quality that have arisen from the stalled talks.
The WGA said CBS' proposal, which removes news producers from the union, places their objectivity and independence at risk, leading to a decline in the quality of news reporting.
Guild covers employees at the network and CBS-owned television and radio stations in New York, Los Angeles and Washington, D.C.
